Tag: Genesis 6

The Kingdom of Heaven is Like…

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Now it came about, when Abram entered Egypt, that the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
Genesis 12:14-15 (NASB)

Now it came about, when mankind began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
Genesis 6:1-2 (NASB)

The scriptures echo. Or perhaps a better way of describing it is that the later instances are parables to teach you the meaning of the earlier ones.

Song of Noah

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Song of Songs is a poem about a man who loves a woman, to the exclusion of all other woman. She is elevated above all other women, and adorned as such.

The story isn’t about the rejection of other women in the poem. It’s about a special relationship.

In a way, the story of Noah and the Flood in Genesis 6 and 7 is the same story as the Song of Songs.

Here is the difference:

Perhaps neither of these “other” groups are meant to point to people.

The “other women” in Song of Songs are the heavenly hosts that cheer the union.

The “people not on the boat” are the demonic forces that God will destroy because they desire to harm His bride.

Perhaps

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Genesis 1-2: God is our Father.
Genesis 3-4: We turn away from Him. We’re like a son who demands his inheritance and leaves.
Genesis 5: Time passes. We wander until things get so bad we need to come home.
Genesis 6-7: The father runs to meet us and brings us back into the house.

You’re on the Boat

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If you read the Bible and you don’t know God loves you with the greatest love, the words will sound like hell.

You’re going to see yourself cast out of the garden.
Marked for death.
A random name in a list of names.
Left off the boat as the flood rises.

But that’s not the story.

He left the garden with you.
He shielded you from vengeance.
He knows your name.
He carries you in the boat.

It is your story. It is the story of His great love for you.

Eat what God has Provided

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In Hebrew numerology, you know that three and seven are important. This make multiples (3 x 7 = 21) stand out as well.

So I find it amusing that in the Garden, the word “eat” is stated 21 times in the Hebrew in Gen 1 and Gen 2.

And “eating” is tied to the greenery.

Interestingly, similar to the way the animals in Genesis 1 are described in triplicate (livestock, creeping things, wild animals), we are shown three kinds of plants: grass, herbs, and trees.

In Genesis 6 and 7, the text is specific: God brings all three types of animals. But there’s no mention of the three types of plants. It is only hinted at in this phrase: מִכָּל־מַאֲכָל (mi-kol ma’akhal). This phrase means “of every food.”

You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.
Genesis 6:21 (NIV)

I used to wonder why humans and animals were vegetarian before the flood. Perhaps it’s linked to atonement: the Ark is a grand parable of humanity being preserved.

The three animals are a metaphor for all people, and people should not devour one another. God has provided every food we need.

A Flood of Grief

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This is a topic that is a bit sensitive for some folks. It requires a tremendous amount of gentleness. I think it also requires some age and wisdom to fully grasp it.

This is about the grief and suffering of the dying.

We have a vocabulary about death. We say things like “at least it was a quick death,” or “at least they died in their sleep.”

In the sadness of loss, we acknowledge the mercy found in certain kinds of death. This sort of death is… better. Better than suffering.

For the one experiencing the loss of a loved one, these phrases don’t lessen the pain, but it is helpful to know that the words are true, isn’t it? It’s good to know that loved ones who die this way did not experience prolongued agony and pain before they passed.

But it doesn’t lift the grief. It is still sorrowful.

But what about those who do suffer in agony?

I won’t describe any of it, because there are those who know already know people who have died this way, and they don’t want to be reminded. We have witnessed it. We have grieved it. And we have prayed for it to be over. We have prayed for an end of the suffering. For mercy.

And when the end comes, we are left with the most troubling and turmoil-filled spirit. We prayed for the end, but then we grieved the loss. We are relieved that their suffering stopped, but we didn’t want to lose them.

This is sorrow.

In Genesis 6, prior to the flood, the text mentions the “wickedness of man.”

We’ve been taught to read this as written in the English. Humanity is completely wicked, so the Flood waters are a judgement to wipe out the earth in God’s wrath.

But that is not the whole picture.

The word here for “the wickedness” is the noun-form of the word ra’. We translate it as “wickedness” or “evil,” but the word carries the connotation of suffering. So when we read “…and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time,” we are being told something important.

Can you see it?

III. evil, misery, distress, injury
1. evil, misery, distress
2. evil, injury, wrong
3. evil (ethical)
H7451: רַע (raʿ)

The text is not describing a humanity in defiance or disobedience to a holy God who must respond in wrath. That’s not the story. It is describing a humanity that is suffering. They are in misery. And they are dying. The curse of sin (death) has laid hold of all of them.

And when the text says “the Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled,” we see it clearly.

This form of “regretted” is compassionate mercy.

1. (Niphal)
1. to be sorry, be moved to pity, have compassion
2. to be sorry, rue, suffer grief, repent
3. to comfort oneself, be comforted
4. to comfort oneself, ease oneself
H5162: נָחַם (nāḥam)

And this form of “grieved” is precisely that feeling of troubling and turmoil-filled sorrow. It is the ending that you wish didn’t have to happen, but you understood that it would be worse if it didn’t.

5. (Hithpael) to feel grieved, be vexed
H6087: עָצַב (ʿāṣaḇ)

This is what our God is showing us with this story.

This stems from Adam and Eve’s eating from the tree of the knowledge of Good & Evil. This evil is the source of the suffering of humanity.

The narrative isn’t pointing to a God who is punishing us for doing the wrong thing. It is about a God grieving our suffering from it.

But God does not leave us in our suffering.

In Noah (whose name means “comfort“), we see God pointing to restoration. We see God making a new covenant and promising that this Flood will not happen again. Perhaps it’s because He will one day end all of our suffering.

Two Hearts

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Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of [a]their hearts was only evil continually. So the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

There are two hearts described in Genesis 6: The heart of man and the heart of God. The [a] footnote tells us that this is humanity’s single heart; it’s a singular noun, rather than the many hearts of many people. Man’s heart is described in the English as “evil continually,” but in Hebrew, this is also understood as “misery every single day.”

II. evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity
1. evil, distress, adversity
2. evil, injury, wrong
3. evil (ethical)
H7451: רַע (raʿ)

It describes suffering. Endless, all-day suffering, leading to violence on the earth done to one another.

God’s heart is in response to man’s heart, where we see God’s heart breaking over the misery of mankind. God responds to the brokenhearted, and to those who call out in their distress.

This passage describes the heart of our God.

5. (Hithpael) to feel grieved, be vexed
H6087: עָצַב (ʿāṣaḇ)

God’s Sorrow

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So the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Then the Lord said, “I will wipe out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land; mankind, and animals as well, and crawling things, and the birds of the sky. For I am sorry that I have made them.”
Genesis 6:6-7 (NASB)

Twice in Genesis 6, the text says God was “sorry” He made humanity. The KJV renders this word as “repented.” Both work and are contained in this word “nawkham.”

But something no translation does is point out that this word also carries an implication of “comforting.”

I. to be sorry, console oneself, repent, regret, comfort, be comforted
I. (Niphal)
1. to be sorry, be moved to pity, have compassion
2. to be sorry, rue, suffer grief, repent
3. to comfort oneself, be comforted
4. to comfort oneself, ease oneself
H5162: נָחַם (nāḥam)

It strikes me when a word is use twice in rapid succession in the text, as though the author is drawing our attention to it. This isn’t a grammatical requirement; the text doesn’t have to say “sorry” twice… but it does.

And it’s this idea of “comfort” that seems to ring.

The other time we heard this word “comfort” was in the previous chapter, when we are told about Noah’s birth. Noah’s name is related to “comfort.”

And he named him Noah, saying, “This one will give us comfort from our work and from the hard labor of our hands caused by the ground which the Lord has cursed.”
Genesis 5:29 (NASB)

And what do we see? Comfort from what? From the work and hard labor from the ground God cursed.

If we jump back to Genesis 6, where God said he was sorry he “made them,” we have another fascinating connection to Noah.

While “awsah” does mean “make,” it also means… “to work.”

As in… “to work the man.”

I. (Qal)
1. to do, work, make, produce
2. to do
3. to work
4. to deal (with)
5. to act, act with effect, effect
H6213: עָשָׂה (ʿāśâ)

Consider this tie of Genesis 5 and 6 together:

Humanity cried out for COMFORT from their WORKS. God is “sorry” or “repents” TWICE, meeting their cry for COMFORT. He was grieved because their WORK led to their misery.

When God cursed the ground in Genesis 3, humanity had to toil and work, and this work became a great suffering and misery to humanity. They cried out once… and God responded twice: “nawkham, nawkham.”

Perhaps limiting their lives to 120 years shortens the suffering.

To Judge Rightly

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We use the word “judge” to often mean “condemn” or “find guilty,” but the Scriptures don’t use the word that way. The word “judge” means “judging correctly” to determine who is wrong.

But the Hebrew word contains another valuable meaning: to plead on behalf of the accused.

I. to judge, contend, plead
1. (Qal)
1. to act as judge, minister judgment
2. to plead a cause
3. to execute judgment, requite, vindicate
4. to govern
5. to contend, strive
H1777: דִּין (dîn)

This is a beautiful image, because it means every mention of God acting as judge, or judging the nations, points to a God who is going to rightly determine fault, but who is ALSO going to defend the accused.

And this makes Genesis 6:3 rather interesting.

Many translators went with “contend,” which means to struggle with, or assert a position in an argument. Like… “deal with,” or “address.”

But this word is “judge.” Because we naturally read this as “condemn,” we often read the shortening of years as punishment.

Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
Genesis 6:3 (NIV)

But it can be understood this way:

My Spirit won’t arbitrate/defend humans eternally. They’re flesh, not Spirit like Me. But I’ll arbitrate and defend them for 120 years – all the years of their lives. I will not abandon them.

While we often focus on the years being shortened as the primary issue, the first thing God says is that He will not judge eternally, because humans are not immortal. But we can then infer that He will arbitrate and defend us even in our shortened lives.